Alrosa’s New York Auction Yields $8M

RAPAPORT... Alrosa sold $7.9 million worth of rough at a large-stone
auction in New York, the Russian miner said Friday.

More than 90% of the diamonds on offer — each over 10.8
carats — found a buyer at the auction from September 17 to October 5, the
company noted. A total of 1,300 carats, including a 108-carat white diamond and
a 98-carat white diamond with yellow shading, fetched a combined average price
of $6,077 per carat.

Companies from the US, India, Israel, Belgium and the United
Arab Emirates participated in the auction, Alrosa said.

“The auction was held during some major holidays, therefore
some of our customers couldn’t attend it,” said Evgeny Agureev, director of
Alrosa’s United Selling Organization. “[This] had an effect on the overall
result. Meanwhile, the sale of colored stones was extremely successful — we
sold all but one lot.”